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Recall season is back in full swing in Moreno Valley with four out of five council members now facing threats of being ousted from their seats.

The latest petitions — served to three council members at the Tuesday, June 9, meeting filled with catcalls and angry shouts — reflects the continued divisions in the city over the proposed mega-warehouse project known as the World Logistics Center and the influence of developer Iddo Benzeevi on city politics.

The recall efforts began last month with one against Councilman Jeffrey Giba, who was accused of of being unduly influenced by Benzeevi because the developer spent $254,723 through an independent expenditure committee in support of Giba in the November election.

Similar reasons were given for the recall petition served Tuesday to Councilman Yxstian Gutierrez, who received $167,000 through another committee from Benzeevi.

Gutierrez said the recall group is simply unhappy with the election results. He said he cannot be blamed for the spending, which under state law cannot be coordinated with candidates.

“I did not consent to it,” he said. “I did not authorize it.”

Daniel Peeden, who along with his brother Darrell Peeden helped organize the recalls, said their campaign is part of a larger movement nationally to reduce the influence of big money in politics. He said they didn’t know the full extent of the spending until February when the final spending reports were released.

“It kind of opened our eyes of what was really going on,” Peeden said.

Supporters of Gutierrez and Giba, who also back the World Logistics Center, have accused organizers of those recall campaigns of attempting to intimidate them from voting in favor of the 40.6 million square-foot project.

On Tuesday, project supporters served council members George Price and LaDonna Jempson with recall notices, saying they were elected due to false allegations against recalled council members Tom Owings and Victoria Baca. A corruption investigation, which included searches of Owings’ and Baca’s homes, concluded last week with no charges.

Price called the recall efforts a “sad commentary” on Moreno Valley politics.

“It’s the pro-World Logistics Center people who are basically trying to silence my vote before I get an opportunity to vote on it,” he said.

Jempson said the recall against Baca was about more than the corruption scandal, but a failure to represent her constituents.

Evan Morgan, who started a group called Moreno Valley Citizens Against Recalling Elections, served the recall notice against Price. He called the recalls that have divided the city over the last year “childish” and a “circus sideshow.”

But he said project supporters felt they needed to respond because of the recall efforts against Giba and Gutierrez.

“When I saw my friend Dr. Gutierrez get (a recall notice) it kind of brought the gloves off in this whole fiasco,” Morgan said.

All four recall efforts are still in their early stages. Organizers must have their petitions approved by the city clerk before they can start gathering signatures.

Once a petition is approved by the city clerk, sponsors have 120 days to gather valid signatures from 20 percent of the registered voters in each district to force an election.

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